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It isn't full of negativity it is people's views and experiences. Not one person on here is happy to see what has happened whether you liked Vulpine kit or not. Like any company some people like their stuff others it doesn't fit etc.
I must have dreamt up the negative comments then, or my filters aren't as good as yours.
Did you try a pair two sizes too small or something?
Yes, clearly my fault that their shorts were defective 🙄 if they were 2 sizes too small I wouldn't have been able to get into them would I. Anazingly people can have different experiences and opinions. I own Vulpine stuff I like (Merino tops) and have bought them for other people but the bibs they sent me were sh1t and went back. And I think the Hoy tie up, sold via a national chain was a step too far. And trying to grow too quickly is one cause of cash flow problems- only weeks ago they published a magazine about their history and plans for the next 5 years, they had his n hers custom bikes at Bespoked, at the same time they were "offering the opportunity" of a second crowd funding drive to try and raise cash. No one is wishing them ill or saying they deserve it, just speculating on the underlying problems.
Shame. I've got a softshell of theirs I quite like. Fit's not great though, I put that down to being designed for 'urban' riding, not racey road bike geometry, and for the £180 or whatever it was supposed to cost I'd have Gore, Castelli or Assos all day long. For the £25 I paid for it in their sample sale though it's awesome.
Conversely the arm warmers I bought likewise for £5 are totally shit. They wouldn't fit anyone. Too big on my arms and too short for my 4-month old son virtually!
Will really miss vulpine. I hate roadie style so they were perfect for me.
However, they did have a quality problem ALL my garments have worn very quickly, rips, broken zips and buttons etc..
So, apart from the quality issues and the high prices they were really good?
Summary then
1) everyone is upset that a British bike related business has had to do this. Real people, real jobs, real stress for all immediately involved.
2) Overpriced hipster gear (unless in a ridiculously low price sale), with quality issues.
3) Endura are hard to beat !
Endura are crap IMO.
No complaints about the quality of Vulpine here, just the fit being different!
I ordered a Harrington jacket from them on Thursday. If it doesn't fit anyone know what my rights are/chances if getting money back?
Slim to none.
There's hardly any negativity in this thread, or crowing over their demise. The comments seem to be about
1. Sadness that they've gone under
2. Honest comments on the quality of the products, which comes across as mixed at best.
3. A bit of speculation over their finances, especially around the self pulled crowdfunding round.
What have I missed?
Endura are crap IMO
Yet IME their kit's good - WP shorts, a great Flipjak gilet, some gloves, socks etc. No issues with any of it. I know some have had problems with other items but it's not like I don't use the kit I have pretty heavily. I have wear through 2 sets of Vulpine baggy/touring shorts in ~3 months each though. Didn't mention that at the time but I guess makes no odds now. In contrast my other touring shorts that cost half as much have done 2 years and many 1000s of miles w/o sign of wear and my Endura lightweight WP shorts are going strong after maybe >1000 miles of wet often off-road miles and living scrunched-up in a bag between uses.
Point is that the quality of one or two items can make a strong impression of a brand even if it's not fully representational? Knowing how hard it is to get products done consistently by 3rd party manufacturers I'd give them some leeway and judge on how they handle the issues, at least first time.
Endura used to make our team kit, which is quite possibly different to stuff they sell, but it was badly made, ill fitting, and didn't last. Probably had 20 different pieces. I'd never buy their 'normal' stuff on the strength of that.
I quite liked the Baa-Baa socks, but they fell apart in 6 months. Gloves didn't last either, thumb seams went.
I could be wrong but I think the custom kit is/was done by a different supplier to order, different to the retail kit. Doesn't answer the other issues you had tho : )
Going way off topic here, but I've had two pairs of Endura neoprene overshoes (one purchased, one replaced under warranty) and the Velcro closure tabs at the top of the zip ripped off both in short order, making them useless.
I also had a pair of their lobster claw gloves and the liners separated from the outers, making them a right pain to get on and off when soaked through (which was often, because they really weren't very water resistant).
So, I don't buy Endura anymore.
Vulpine? Meh. I think it's interesting how much less ire they receive from STWers on the whole compared to Rapha, when their prices are similar and they've always followed in Rapha's footsteps style-wise.
£70 for a long sleeve white shirt with the word 'tech' in the title! No wonder they went bust - no real market for that type of commuting clothing.
I must of been under a stone for quite a while as I'd never heard of the brand before seeing it went under - probably another clue why they did go under.
Endura used to make our team kit, which is quite possibly different to stuff they sell, but it was badly made, ill fitting, and didn't last.
I've had a lot of Endura kit over the years. UK company, sensible design, good value. Mostly the quality has been really good and it's lasted well. A few duff pieces (some gloves, an early pair of Singletrack shorts where the stiching wore out quickly, some harsh stitching on some bib shorts that rubbed). Quality of all the recent stuff has been excellent and their Equipe road range is superb (bibshorts, shirt and gloves). They do a lot of different fits so can't really generalise on that - the Equipe is proper racing snake whereas some of the mtb stuff is made for fat biffers.
The Vulpine stuff I've got is good quality (a couple of jackets, insulated gilets) and a good fit. Picked up in 'sample' sale at really good prices. Full price on everything looked well over the top this year. The Epic Cotton Harringtons are a nice cotton jacket that dry quickly but they're not a proper waterproof. £150 full price might be justifiable but £250 was ludicrous.
I think it's interesting how much less ire they receive from STWers on the whole compared to Rapha, when their prices are similar and they've always followed in Rapha's footsteps style-wise.
I'm not sure they were on that many peoples radar, especially compared to Rapha
Endura used to make our team kit, which is quite possibly different to stuff they sell, but it was badly made, ill fitting, and didn't last.
Snap. It also never turned up on time and one order I sent back because 12 out of 30 items had been made incorrectly.
Snap. It also never turned up on time and one order I sent back because 12 out of 30 items had been made incorrectly.
This is mu experience of a lot of the makers of club kit, an utter shambles a lot of them are.
Going back to Vulpine, they weren't really like Rapha as they sold hardly any 'proper' cycling kit, it was mostly poncy commuter clothing at daft prices.
interesting goings on on the [url= http://road.cc/content/news/222147-cycle-clothing-brand-vulpine-insolvent-and-enters-administration?sort_bef_combine=created%20ASC&sort_order=ASC&sort_by=created&page=1&qt-more_news=0 ]RoadCC Forum[/url] - looks like they paid themselves and one of the directors a rather large amount of money just before going into administration .....
Its getting ugly over there !
the website is still live, very odd
Fashion brand for London mugs. They're not daft though, judging by comments above about feathering nests.
Well, it seems that folks and their money can still be easily parted:
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/tribe-hits-1m-fundraising-target-in-four-days/021266
£5.5m valuation based on:
25,000 'active' members (proportion of them who have bought special offer introductory packs worth £8.95 for £1 unknown)
10,000 people attending 'tribe' events (given a free bar in an event goodie bag?)
£600k 'annualised revenue run rate'
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Carlton Reid doesn't pull his punches here...
> http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/what-the-hell-happened-at-vulpine/021275
Seems like the boss was taking the proverbial.
Oof!
Might need to change the title.....
It is still sad for those who ponied up to fund it all.
There's a pretty interesting thread over on LFGSS about it - basically he sounds like a total con man...I've got a couple of their polo style shirts and they're ok, nothing special. Certainly not £80 special
Chuff me just looked at their prices.Very few places in the country you could wear stuff like that and not look a right d!ck
So cycling gear for rich London Hipsters
Rest of us commute etc in Aldi / Lidl gear
Amazing lack of self awareness right there.
GregMay - MemberI do hope Nick manages to sort something out for himself, family, and staff over the coming weeks.
Good news, looks like he sorted himself and his family at least.... it was just in the previous weeks that's all.
Mango Bikes have bought the company. Will honour existing orders etc.
Mango Bikes have bought the company. Will honour existing orders et
Wow! Cheap mass produced gas pipe fixies?
Hardly the look Nick was going for. 😯
Hardly the look Nick was going for.
Doesn't really matter now does it?
While I think the whole thing sounds badly managed, I should point out to clarify the article from Bikebiz that if you raise lots of money then you're pretty much guaranteed to rack up losses as if you raise 500k, and spend 500k, that's a 500k loss. It doesn't matter where the money came from - if it's not earned and you spend it you lost it. It's a problem for funded companies to get credit etc. you need to be making real money fairly quick, or expect to go back to the trough as cash flow is the killer.
I just find it strange that the current method of building a brand is to haemorrhage money for years. What happened to sustainably and profitably building a business?
if you raise 500k, and spend 500k, that's a 500k loss.
You are much better at p&l and business plans than me Ben, but surely it's not a loss If you were to buy £500k of stock.
You are of course correct Brant, as long as you can sell the stock! Otherwise you have spent £500k on worthless clothes.
You are of course correct Brant
Phew.
We borrowed £5k off my dad to buy HebTroCo trousers. Which we have now sold (many times over). He hasn't asked for it back yet but it's his birthday today and was going to give him an update.
Tell him I like my pair!
I might not have all the facts or all the knowledge, but given the bikebiz article, I can't believe anyone running a start up business would pay themselves that much in the early days when all the hard effort and money should be going into building the business, or especially when things are not going well. Your reward should be once it is up and running successfully surely?
I feel sorry for the employees, but not him given what I have read.
Just tells me that they are/were trying to sell something that few people want. If more did they would be millionaires.
You are much better at p&l and business plans than me Ben, but surely it's not a loss If you were to buy £500k of stock.
Depends how much you bought and how you depreciate it. But thats not the point, what I was trying to convey was that the sentiment in the article of ' They raised so much money how could they make a loss? ' is misplaced. Its hard to make a loss with £5 of share capital, no credit and not much else, as you have nothing to 'lose', however on an equity raise of £500k, its perfectly possible to make a loss of well over 500k if you're an idiot.
but surely it's not a loss If you were to buy £500k of stock.
No but it doesn't help when they have 2,000 Hoy-Vulpine tshirts in the warehouse they have bought that contractually they arent allowed to sell
I can't believe anyone running a start up business would pay themselves that much in the early days when all the hard effort and money should be going into building the business,
This is the nub of it, more so than the poor business sense - which most of us are probably blessed with.